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Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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Koi Palace
What can I say?!@#!
I like the place but have been here only once.
I frequent the one in Thunder Valley Casino on the way to mom's house.
they always serve the good parts, you won't find parts of the ingredients that should be thrown away in your plates. The place is nice, bring back memories of the bowling alley that used to be behind it.
My husband and I treated ourselves to dim sum this morning. I've been to Koi Palace a couple times but it was years ago! As others pointed out, parking here can be tough since they're always so busy. We were here around 10 AM and the place was packed! We were seated right away.
The food was awesome and the prices were affordable - way cheaper than Yank Sing and just as good if not better.
We ate a TON and our bill totaled $45 w/out tip. We'll so be back soon - next week even.
Eh, typical dim sum.
I have been to better ones, but the service was horrible. I would've given this place 3 stars, but the lack of attention we received from the wait staff was sucked!
It was really busy on a saturday morning.
Recommendations:
Shu mai
Chicken feet
The infamous Koi Palace. I have this friend who loves dim sum and is ALWAYS raving about this place. So my boyfriend and I decided to come here yesterday to try it out.
So, it's Cantonese style dim sum (the best style), I had a lot of their dim sum basics and did not try too much of their "exotic" stuff because it was only 2 people, how much could we possibly eat?
Well, we still managed to scarf down $75 worth, so you can say that I got my basis covered. yes, we did take some to go for like a second dim sum of the day.
Starting with your dim sum essentials:
Chicken feet with black bean sauce: Delicious. In the words of Mike: "this chicken feet is made with love." The texture was really good, the flavor was great and it was really fresh.
Spare Ribs: These were quite impressive as well. The ribs were a bit on the fatty side but it was steamed to perfection and very tasty.
Sui Mai - Standard, have had better else where.
Ha Gao - Standard, have had better else where.
Pan Fried Chive dumplings: these were super chivey...But it was perfectly pan fried on the outside and super juicy and flavorful on the inside. My bf loved it.
Ha Chueng Fun (Shrimp rice noodle roll): ehh. they got the sauce down, but noodle texture and flavor of shrimp was standard, a bit disappointing. The shrimp was big and juicy but the noodle texture was just not as good as the one at Hung To.
Tripe: Amazing. In the words of Mike, " I've never had tripe like that." And it was so good. The tripe was juicy, fluffy and a mouthful when you bite into it. This place has the best tripe I've ever had, hands down.
Taro Fritter: This was really good here. I loved that it wasn't overly stuffed with taro and it had the perfect balance of crunchiness. It was not pasty, not overly meaty and perfectly flavorful.
Shrimp Stuffed Mushroom. I was in love with the shrimp mix that is stuffed on top of the mushroom. It was so good. it's lightly browned on top which created this really good flavor, and the mix itself was a good contrast with the mushroom.
SharksFin dumpling - It was good. but overrated.
EXPENSIVE AND OVER RATED!!!
this dim sum isn't even that good, taste the starch on some of them... plus last time we ate there with my family, the bill was like $43... so we put down $100 bill... waiter took the money and turn it in... so we expecting changes but never show up... after like 15 minutes we finally went up the counter and demand our changes... the lady didn't even know where our money went... so they went to look for it, the waiter end up putting our $100 inside the tip jar with the bill... i was hella heated, how you manage to do this?! we waited for so long... so my mom said its ok and she still gave tips.... i told my mom don't even give tips... the lady said its ok, no need to worry.... oh man, that it for that place... haven't been there since.... customer service sucked!
My brother had been raving about this place for so long so we finally came here one Saturday morning for Dim Sum. I'd highly recommend going as early as possible as it gets EXTREMELY crowded by noon. Even coming at 10:30am, we had to wait for about 10 minutes for a table.
I like dim sum...but I've never had the opportunity to say that it's "hella" good until now! Upon walking in, you can see their enormous selection of live king crabs, giant lobsters, a plethora of sea creatures in their tanks. They even had types of shell fish that I never knew existed.
So about the food: Not your typical dim sum joint! They authentic traditional dim sum from Shanghai and other parts of China. There were soooooo many different selections to choose from! Most of it, I was afraid to try. When you bite into the food, there are flavors that surprise your palette. Could dim sum taste fresh? Well, it does here. Definitely coming back!
Don't expect amazing service though. Enough dim sum and tea to satisfy a party of 3 = $45.
I found myself sitting deliriously at at table at 10:30am on Sunday with my Asian friends, Danny W., David Y., and Helen L. after a long night of sangria-drinking in the Mission on Saturday night. I was on the alert for white-people bashing b/c I read several negative reviews of white people neglect and forgetting to fill water glasses. However, I had no problems whatsoever and enjoyed myself immensely. I guess 1:3 is the perfect ratio. hahaha!
You can order off a little paper menu that you mark up or just order from one of the multiple waiters. I loved the XLB, and a crazy Chinese fried donut encased in noodle wrap, the shrimp dumplings were fresh and plump and the taro pyramid was crispy and delicious. Everything's not fail proof though- my friend ordered stuffed mushroom and we got something that looked like a whole fried square of dried ramen around a layer of unidentifiable meat (?) filling. Also, it was the driest food God ever invented. I needed 3 glasses of water to choke down 2 bites. Of course I had to bring home a square for bf to choke on so he would believe me that it was the driest food ever!
I live right by Koi Garden in Dublin, but it doesn't feel the same. The Daly City location is definitely more authentic and fun.
XOXO Koi Palace!!!
Ummmmm...I can still taste the best BBQ bun I've ever had. I will be back before we go home to Chicago. It came out in a set of 3...Nice and shiny, glazed with a sweet taste and the BBQ meat was oh so yummy...Piping hot and delicious. Fresh is the word that comes to my mind. Shrimp, noodles,crab balls and sauces were the best.
The Jasmine tea was SOOOO good. Now I know why they say "tea house" It was nice and hot and stayed that way thanks to the candle you rest your pot on. Between 2 of us, we drank the entire pot.
Like a guy mentioned before it must be authentic, he was the only white man there. Same thing for me..It was a Tuesdays at 2pm and this place was packed to the max and yes, I was the only blonde in site, but I'm use to that : )
I suggest heading over here when in lovely San Francisco!!!
We use to come here once a week. Chinese family usually have dim sums on the weekends. They use to have the best dim sum in bay area but not so anymore since they change the chief I believe a few months ago
I came here to try for myself and I was dissapointed. I use to come here for their shai lon boa but this time around it's obvious they don't know how to make it. The wrappings are thick not like before so are the rest of the dim sums. Not worth it for the price. After at least 10 years of really good buisness this place is obviously going down.
After reading recent reviews, I was hesitant to bring my relatives here, but we went anyway. haha. And I am really happy to say that the reviews were false.
We didn't have to wait AT ALL...maybe because of their recent bad reviews?...
We ate and ate and ate. The taro pineapple bun was so good (apparently they only have this dish on the weekends)...we ordered one to go!
You must get here early! We barely snaked in at 10:25 and got one of the last tables. Otherwise, you are going to wait a long time!
The parking is crazy crazy crazy. I am sure the outback steakhouse next door isn't happy about it either. When we left at about 11:45 - people were walking a few blocks from their car to get here!
#1 tip - Ask for the FULL menu. Don't be fooled! We were sat next to the Koi pond and handed a small sheet with things listed but it was just one piece of paper front and back. We looked around and saw a few tables with a white folded menu that was much much much larger! Ask and you shall receive.
There isn't soy sauce on the tables. But they do bring you mustard and hot chili without having to ask.
We ordered way too much food but we got to take it home! It's so much easier to regulate how much you order with the cart system.
This place felt really clean in comparison to lots of other places we've been. We also appreciated the window into the kitchen and natural lighting. Didn't appreciate people who were waiting hovering around us and staring at the monstrosity of food we over ordered.
Koi Palace deserves five stars for carrying mantis shrimp or what Cantonese people refer to as "pissing shrimp!" I've only had this while visiting HK/China and have never seen it in the Bay Area before. The manager claims that no other Chinese restaurant in the area takes the risk in carrying these, so Koi Palace is the place to go!
They are flown in on Thursdays and stay alive for about three days, so the best nights to come sample mantis shrimp would be on Friday or Saturday nights. The price is $38/lb., which is about 2-2.5 shrimps. They were huge!
As for preparation, I recommend getting them steamed even though the meat is mild in flavor. The natural sweetness really comes through without any added seasoning because of the freshness.
Warning: It is a pain to eat because of the hard shell and sharp edges, so be careful. Flex it a few times and then slowly break off each segment of the shell to get to the meat or you can even ask for scissors to cut it open if you need to.
After testing many other places, I've come to one conclusion-- there is no place like Koi Palace!
Be sure to try their Shanghai Dumplings, Har gows, Shui Mai (and if you have money to blow try their Abalone Shui Mai's -- amazing), Shark fin dumpling soup -- really just about anything on the menu is great!
As for the long lines, my only advice is not to be stupid by going in at noon on a Sunday. Any dim sum place will be packed at that time-- so really it's your own stupidity that landed you at the end of the 2hr wait!! Try going at 1:30 or even at 11, the lines are usually a little more decent!
I love their dim sum. They're shark fin dumpling soup is better than the best-- it really is filled… Read more »
Their dim sum deserves FOUR stars, but the service brings my over all rating down to THREE at best.
No doubt, we enjoyed the dim sum here. Fresh and delicious. Haw gow, my staple order at any dim sum place, was really tasty, and so were other seafood dumplings. We also like the tofu skin or yuba roll (whatever it's called), bbq pork buns (actually had lots of edible pork inside) and rice balls wrapped in lotus leaf. Everything else - though randomly picked - was good, too.
On the menu are lots of dishes to choose from, and you basically preorder by marking off the items. I personally like to see more carts going around the floor so I can first visually see exactly what we're going to eat, but I guess if we wanted the food served hot and fresh, it's better to have them served individually...
Unfortunately, the SERVICE was slow and disruptive, not to mention a little rude?! Maybe I'm overreacting, but I simply did not appreciate the absence of interest and attention coming from the waiters. In their defense, maybe they were busy; it's a large floor to cover.
Lastly, this place is hard to find when you're going for the first time as it's hidden behind a shopping complex. Check your map/GPS in advance to avoid what we did - drive around in circles for 10 minutes!
SUM: Yep, three stars for now. Maybe a few more visits and some dessert (we were too full to order last time) will change my mind?
In reading Keiko S's review, I feel like we had pretty similar experiences at Koi Palace. On my visit, the food was good, but the service was terrible.
I love dim sum, and I'd heard this place was one of the best. We came at a time when they weren't swamped, so we were seated rather quickly. My daughter and I saw multiple dim sum carts zooming around the restaurant. Most of these carts bypassed our table, but managed to stop at all the other tables around us. I'm not going to play the race card, but I will state the fact that we were the only white people in the restaurant. Was this the reason most servers ignored us? I don't know. All the nearby tables had no trouble getting service.
We were also neglected by our waiter, who never refilled our water or tea. When we needed extra napkins, we were SOL. Since most of the dim sum carts were avoiding us, we ordered off the menu (after 10 minutes of neglect, we were getting pretty hungry). Everything we tried was good, but it was an awful lot of effort to get it to our table. I doubt I'll be back -- there are better fish in the dim sum sea.
Alright, so as a reviewer I like to take everything into consideration: a restaurant's ambiance, food, wait staff, etc... so let me explain why Koi Palace only got three stars.
The ambiance was more than you could ask for at a Chinese restaurant, especially a dim sum place. Yes, it was well decorated but it was so packed in there with so many tables (and don't get me started on the lobby where mobs of hungry people were waiting). They seated me at a makeshift table (ghetto as hell) with my family (of 4). Okay, whatever... it only took us 1 1/2 hours to get this ghetto table, bring on the food!
The food was good. I have to admit that it is one of the better dim sum places around. HOWEVER, our bill came out to over ninety dollars and we didn't even order that much! How the hell did the tab come to $90+? I would've rather gone to a sushi joint than eaten here for that much money. I don't really think that the food was worth the wait either.
It's good to try if you haven't been before but definitely avoid the weekends because that's when it's most crowded. I showed up on a Sunday at 1:30 pm and didn't get seated until waaaay later. However, I wouldn't go back because of the long wait and the (oh so famous) Chinese courtesy of the wait staff (note the sarcasm!)
I didn't bother to write a review before, because there are too many already. But after my last Xmas dinner here (AVOID coming here during holidays), I needed to add my 2 cents worth. In order to write a fair review, I've divided my comments into 2 parts.
4-stars on regular days
Normally, I'd give KP high marks for the food - usually really good, top quality (but not always). It's also one of my mother's favorite for dim sum. I'm not a fan of the wait time, but not their fault that it's so popular. Personally, I'd rather eat elsewhere instead of waiting here for an hour or more. They do have banquet menus for less than $200 per table (8 people), so it's not a bad deal. The waiters are professional and efficient.
2-stars for holiday meals
BUT during the Xmas holiday they offer overpriced banquet menus at $398, $598, $798, etc. per table. Wow!! pricey!! All the menus include an appetizer, soup, fish, chicken, and dessert, plus several dishes that change with each price. The $398 menu includes cheap items like, simple stir-frys and vegetables; the better choices (ie. crab, lobster, etc.) start at the $598 price point and above. All the food was well prepared and tasted good, but the price was too high for the choices you get.
Many relatives had other plans that night, so our group had 3 tables (normally we occupy 4 or 5 tables).
(4+2)/2 = 3 stars +1 for good service = 4 stars.
Okay Koi Palace, why do you guys always have such long ass lines? Thank God for my boyfriend's family and their secret hook ups cuz I am not trying to stand in that line.. I wouldn't even stand in it for an hour. PASSSS!
The food is delicious.. Well, it BETTER be considering the prices they charge. I've had dim sum and dinner here. The food definitely stands out amongst other Chinese restaurants. The only con I can think of is the lack of parking.
We used to go to Koi Palace all the time during the weekends with family. It was a place where we used to go, but after long waits and terrible service, we decided never to go back. It helps to know people that work there. People who know members of the staff would not have to wait as long.
The food is good, not the best. There's nothing really special about this place except it's more neat than restaurants in Chinatown. A bit on the pricey side, nothing you can not live without.
Rating: 1.5 stars
This place always gets ranked 5 stars and also, word of mouth is always so postive....A couple of years ago, I might have given the food 3.5 stars...but frankly, I have had better dim sum...and I've never liked the parking situation or the looooooooooooooooooooong waits and the giant...super HUGE groups of people that litter the place...um, how about go out one family at a time? Note: I myself come from a HUGE family ( 6 kids) and my parents each have 5 siblings and kids, etc) and it never would occur to me/us to have every aunt/uncle/cousin and their kids ALL go somewhere at once! (If we did, they have this really neat invention called "private party/banquet room".) It's obnoxious/offensive to dominate a restaurant in this matter! Also, the service, even back when I ranked the food at 3.5 stars, was always just ok/bordering on inattentive...perhaps you have to be Asian to receive decent service...which I guess is the restaurants prerogative...just as it's mine NOT to go there and spend money!
Never again...
If you haven't been here, you need to come here!
Koi palace has the best dim sum in the bay area, even the ones in SF's chinatown can't compare to this place! Make sure you have a reservation, because this place gets packed! This is what I think, if a restaurant is super packed then there must be a reason why it's packed. Probably because the food is really good. The prices are a little more expensive then your regular dim sum places, but I assure you that the food is worth every penny. Parking isn't too bad, but if you come during their busiest hours you may have to park a little further.
I'm changing this place to 4 stars. Although the food is still as good as it is before, I've realized that this place is not that great.
I still come here with my mom during holidays, but we've learned to come early or not come at all. Last time, we order five dim sums, but sat at the table for one and a half hours. Even though they have a large selection, one of the things I dislike is that you have to order everything. I actually love having the little carts pushed around with the ladies screaming out what they have.
Here's some items I suggest trying:
Soup Dumpling with Shark Fin - A large, almost like Shanghai, dumpling in chicken soup topped with two large pieces of Shark Fin. Very good, somewhat pricey.
Pot Stickers - The taste is something different. Savory, yet a hint of sweetness. The sauce adds layers of flavor.
Look at my old post for other suggestions.
The wait is still EXACTLY the same. I especially hate when people know a waiter/waitress so they cut through the hallway and wait for a table on the backside of the restaurant.
As much as I hate coming here on the weekends and holidays, this place has the BEST dim sum!
I rarely…
Read more »
One of the best dim sums this side of the Pacific. But Penguin, why only 4 stars? It's a nice enough place. The food is fantastic!
Well, it's too good. The croud is miserable. If you get there past 10:23am on a Sunday plan on an hour wait. And if you screw up and accidentally plan on Chinese New Year...2 hours for you!
Also, it's not one of the 'cheap' places. And this city, there enough 'cheap' places of similar or as good taste, so why wait?
I paid Koi Palace a visit today. I haven't been there int he past 5 years. Little has changed since then. The prices are still astronomically compared to all the competing Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area. I will admit the food was pretty good. I had this dish with a gigantic scallop. It was pretty good, but it cost $7! I also had the bean curd wraps.
The food and service is really good. However, I think the food is overpriced.
Used to be good, not so much anymore.
The food no longer worth the hassle of the crazy parking situation and the long wait...
Came here for dim sum and boy was the line long!!! However, a party of two goes by pretty quick. We came during rush hours and got seated like in 10 minutes. I would have given this place five starts, but was very disappointed in the chicken feet and xiu mai. That's like the most common dim sum!! The flavor of the chicken feet was really weird, too powdery and the xiu mai was nothing special.
However, the dumplings here are excellent. I believe the skin made a difference, it was thin and perfectly cooked. Most dim sum places makes the skin to thick. Try the crab dumpling, one of my favorite.
BTW, the dim sum cart doesn't go by too often I suggest ordering it from the waiter else you'll wait for a while. It's pretty pricey here!!!
After waiting almost a hour for dim sum on the weekend you'd figure the food would be sooo good since I was starving. That wasn't the case. They must be doing something right since there's always a wait but for me, personally, I am not a big fan. I've had better dim sum at some hole in the wall, to-go dim sum joint. As for dinner, I haven't been in a while so I'm just commenting on the their weekend dim sum/brunch time.
Oh, and another thing I can't stand the absolute chaos in the waiting area. Talk about RUDE staff members. But then again, the patrons are pretty rude too. Won't come back unless someone drags me kicking and screaming.
Within 40 hours, I had the opportunity to experience both dim sum and dinner at Koi Palace and boy, was it a treat.
Koi Palace has always been my favorite dim sum joint. So what dishes do I get again and again? Shrimp dumplings, XO-sauced pan-fried flat noodles, fried tofu, fried taro squares, and the dessert tofu in gingered sugar. I love the shrimp dumplings because the wrap is thin, chewy and not sticky and they are generous with the shrimp. The XO-sauced pan-fried flat noodles have a hint of spiciness, but it's not overpowering and absolutely tasty. The fried tofu and taro squares are well taken care of in the fryer. They're not soggy at all. And lastly, the dessert tofu is smooth and the ginger sugar that's poured over the tofu gives my tummy a little tingle. It's yummy.
Dinner was just as good as dim sum. My fam and I aren't rich enough to be stuffing our faces with abalone or shark fin. We just had some average Joe dishes like the Mixed Mushrooms with Veggies, PayPa Tofu, Concubine Chicken, and Pan-fried Porkchops. All of them were delicious. Props to our server Joe. He took really good care of us.
Yes, it's pretty pricey, but you get what you pay for. All of the food I eat there is worth every penny that I spend. I love this place!
In the Bay Area, I haven't tasted much better dim sum consistently than at Koi Palace. You probably can get roughly the same value-for-the-money if you go to Oakland but who wants to pay the toll if you're in the City?
The dim sum is fresh and I would stick to that as I thought the coffee-glazed pork ribs were just average (bittery). The standard ha gow, siu mai, fung jao, and other dim sum were steaming hot and well done. We've also had good experiences with the rice flour rolls, especially with the donut wrapped in the rice flour roll with sesame and barbeque dipping sauces.
In terms of atmosphere, the faux ancient courtyard is a nice elegant touch in my opinion although it gets a bit crowded in the lobby during the weekends. They are super high tech and have an electronic waiting list on a LCD tv on top and they can also text message you when you are almost up to be seated. Pro-Tip: You will not be seated until your party is there.
Alright, now to address the service issues/questions being brought up on many reviews. I hope this isn't your first time having dim sum. Your expectations for "service" need to be brought down to the Cantonese dim sum level which means you're not going to get a smile or someone attending to you but instead of a bunch of busy people running around responding to your needs if you know how to get their attention and not waste their time. Here goes the tips:
1) If you need more hot water for your TEA: Move empty teapot to side of table facing the walkway and tilt the tea kettle lid so it is ajar (slightly open) indicating to the waiter that it needs a refill. If you do this, you will get more water with no asking and no problems.
2) If you need to order food from the menu or get ice water or something not tea related, look for the people in the black vests and white shirts or someone in a suit (manager). Do not expect any service from the dim sum cart ladies or people coming out of the kitchen. The key to getting their attention is to make eye contact then as they pass by you wave your hand at them and very quickly state your demand. If you want to learn some Cantonese, here's the one for ice water ("bing siu").
Hope that helps. Happy Dim-Summing.
Foods pretty good! What i found pretty annoying was when the door was opened, wind would blow strait in
One of the best dim sum in SF and peninsula, if not the best. But the wait is ridiculous. We've waited as many as 2 hours for a table of 6. Ate for 30 minutes and left. That's just crazy. There is no restaurant THAT GREAT that deserves that much waiting time.
Their quality of food (dim sum) has gone down the past year. Heard rumors that the original chef went to work at their Dublin location. I've not gone back for over a year now.
Diamond Harbor Seafood Restaurant in Foster City is officially my dim sum go-to place now.
The place did live up to all the hype, and it wasn't as greasy/dirty as most dimsum places are. This place reminds me of a typical Chinese restaurant where you bring the extended relatives for some family reunion dinner, but can also accommodate smaller groups. They had a very good selection of all kinds of different dimsum, along with various interesting traditional Chinese dishes. The restaurant was pretty crowded given that it was a Thursday afternoon, which made me wonder if people even work during the day anymore.
Anyway, I was very pleased with everything we ordered - our group of 8 sampled a wide variety of seafood and pork dishes (after all, that's pretty much what dimsum consists of). Everything from the shark fin soup, fried crab claws, shrimp stuffed mushrooms, shrimp stuffed eggplants, roasted duck, ginkgo with pea tendrils, to this huge dish of fried lobster with lobster stuffed dumplings was great and very satisfying. I didn't walk out feeling like a tub of lard either, which is usually the case post-dimsum meals. Despite how busy they were, it didn't take forever and a day to bring out our dishes either... which was good b/c we were hungry!
So I'd come back again for another group dimsum outing - good type of place if you want to come here for a fun, noisy meal w/ family or friends.
As far as dim sum goes, I think Koi currently has a slight edge on all of the other dim sum places around the bay, though I feel that Saigon comes very close in taste (and wait times). I'd normally give the best in class a 5 star rating, but that horrendous (sometimes hourlong) wait takes a notch off, especially since you can find comparable dim sum, for cheaper, closer to where you live, without waiting, I'm sure!
So, then, what's to like? everything is typically FRESH. especially if you nab a seat by the entrance/exit! They've got very good seafood that goes into many of the dim sum dishes, too. They've also got some unusual options like king of siu mai (a siu mai made for someone shaq's size), lobster XLB, and crab covered dumplings. These last two are actually large plates with many dumplings, with the crustaceans added as toppings. Yum!
I liked this place. It is huge. The carpet is cool- dark colorful carpet with koi pictures. Good place for a wedding, or banquet, but I imagine a huge Chinese wedding party or a mafia wedding, etc.
It is bustling in here- I went for dinner recently on a saturday night. We ate a lot for just the three of us. The XLB dumplings were good, and so was the seafood noodles, and the walnut prawns. We also had the lemongrass beef which was tasty. I need to go here for dim sum- I hear it rules.
I'm no dim sum connoisseur, and I can hardly taste the differences between most dim sum. but this place was really good! we ordered a ton of food - siu mai, ha gao, the panfried dumplings with chives and shrimp, pai guat, taro shells (my favorite!). they had the mochi with the black sesame paste in the middle. that was a bit sweet, and the taro shells were overkill fried. i've never seen such brown taro shells before.
oh boy, it was good. honestly, it was really tasty. but $50 for dim sum? so expensive! i don't like spending much on something i'm going to poop out but it was definitely good.
i prefer the cart technique as well. we had to order from our table and then they brought it out to us...not as fun.
This place was okay, There was only one dish I enjoyed and that was the Crab dish. It was different from what I've eaten in chinese 9 course meals. The crab was fried in a light batter but the crab meat contents were mixed with sauces and in what looked like scrambled egg it was piled in the middle of the dish with a few legs and the crab on the side overlooking it's content. I enjoyed that more than my shark fin soup.
There was an accident where the waiter spilled an expensive bottle of wine on one of the guests and I thought he was going to just give her a wet towel knowing that red wine and white dresses end in a bad mess, but the matridee came over and offered to pay for a dry cleaning which I think will be useless but the gester was welcomed.
If you want cheap Chinese food. Go to Panda Express. If you want authentic Chinese Dim Sum food then come here. I did not find it pricey at all, especially since this place has the best dim sum in the bay area.
It's a long wait because it's good food and everyone wants to eat here. You know that it means nothing is sitting in the kitchen for hours and everything is made fresh. It's much better than eating in an empty restaurant.
Minus one star for the annoying dim sum cart carryers who relentlessly try to push their dishes to you, even though you've already ordered your food from the order sheet. The trick is to not make eye contact and ignoring them as much as possible. If you say yes to them each time, you'll end up having wayyy to much food on your table and a big big bill.
Between 2 people, we ordered 11 items (some were To Go) which came out to only $40 for all that food.
Tip #1: The dim sum meal experience is also called 'Yum Cha' which means 'drink tea'. You only eat dim sum and go Yum Cha during lunchtime so come here between 11am-2pm. They stop lunch service at 3pm and by then, you'll have very little to choose from.
Tip #2: If you like the egg custard tarts, order them right away and ask them to hold on to it and bring it out last. They sell out quick.
Tip #3: If you're driving down from SF- call in for a ticket number before you leave. Once you arrive (with your entire party!), the wait shouldn't be too bad.
great dim sum. the place is too pack, have to get in early.
service really bad, slow. but that is what makes chinese food special.
they are lauzy in service but their food are awesome.
their price is not cheap, but good.
enjoy the meal and have fun.
I used to like Koi Palace when I moved to the city and didn't know any better, but now I have found better choices elsewhere. There must be something in the MSG that keeps the people addicted and wanting to come back, since the lines are so long. What is annoying is that there is another special shorter line inside in the dining area for VIPs or people in the know. That's why regular people have to wait 1+ hours for a table! There is a good selection of dim sum but I find it pricey and not too exceptional. The dishes and utensils where greasy as if they didn't wash it too well... probably not my pick unless I am stuck in the foggy Daly City area and need a quick dim sum fix.
How yummy!!
If you don't mind the long wait, crowd and the fact that it's a little expensive...it's worth it in my mind.
This was the first time I had dim sum and though, "this is DELICIOUS!" I've always been a fan of dim sum, but I never thought dim sum to be THIS good. Everything tasted fresh and flavorful. I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Plus, we got to sit next to a little koi pond, and I thought that was just adorable. And I thought the check-in system was clever. You get a little ticket, with your number and an estimated time to be called in. AND you can give them your phone number so they can text you when it's almost your turn to be seated.
South San Francisco, CA
Category: Dim Sum
Daly City, CA
Category: Dim Sum
Millbrae, CA
Category: Dim Sum
Daly City, CA
Category: Dim Sum
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Dim Sum
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